


Do You Know Me?

by paperficwriter



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-09 22:23:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10423098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperficwriter/pseuds/paperficwriter
Summary: Link deals with night terrors before his battle for the Zora. Prince Sidon is there to offer kind words (that's what he does).





	

Link wakes up sweating and panting, the silken seaplant sheets a tangle around him. It’s hard to tell if he has made any sort of noise in his sleep, but his throat feels rough, like he’s been inhaling small pieces of rock. The private bedchamber Prince Sidon gave him is in one of the towers overlooking the square below, where he can see the profile of Mipha’s statue from the balcony, past the gossamer curtains.

_“Once this whole thing is over maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young.”_

That’s what she had said, in the memory he had had, and perhaps that should have given him some comfort, but…he had seen her again in his dream, and her image shattered into a thousand fragments. There was chaos and screaming, pain and darkness, and then…he had awoken before there was anything more.

Sleep is the worst time for Link. Sleep, when he can’t tell where pieces of memories end and the tricks of a broken mind take over.

Link rises and puts on his simple tunic - leaving the Zora Armor neatly on the chest where he had placed it after trying it on (even the perfect fit had frustrated him, though he did not show it) - and wanders out, down the stairs to the Domain sprawling below. He knows that on the morrow, he will be called to fight the monster plaguing them, once again take on the mantle of the Champion of Hyrule, and…

He regards the winding path he took to get here. No one would stop him. It is so tempting to just go.  

Could they blame him? They claim to know him, but he doesn’t even know himself.

He wanders, his feet taking him down stairs, past the sentries, to the market square. Everything has been boxed up and put away for the night, all the Zora having returned to their families. Link would like to imagine that they are sleeping better than he did, but then…probably not. After all, they are afraid of the Divine Beast, the doom it promises with each sound bellowing beyond the outskirts of the kingdom.

Finally, he simply sits, his feet dangling over the edge of the rotunda, the edge of the banister around its circumference just tall enough that he can rest his arms there, set his head on top of them. There aren’t words that can describe how he feels now – even if he could speak them aloud. He’s tired but doesn’t want to sleep. He should be afraid of what daybreak holds, but right now, he feels…nothing. It’s as if there is a bottomless pit in the center of his chest. There is something like sadness, but it is heavy and dull. Numb.

There are words that others keep using: hero. Amazing. Warrior. Is that truly him, underneath all of the weapons and armor? How much can someone change in a hundred years?

“Link?”

He looks up, but even if he hadn’t, he would have known it was Prince Sidon; he would have recognized that gentle, warm tone. Even without all the royal garb, he still carries a regal air that sets him apart from any other Zora that Link has met to this point. Gone are the pieces of armor, the strap across his chest, the aristocratic kerchief, his wristlets.

“What are you doing out here? I thought you would be asleep. You seemed like you needed rest. Is the bedchamber not to your liking?”

Link shakes his head. ‘Dreams,’ he signs with his fingers. ‘Couldn’t sleep.’

Sidon nods and sits next to him. It’s strange but only when he is actually at his side, letting his own legs hang into the space beneath them, that Link realizes that despite how long his arms are, the stretch of his torso, his bottom half is actually rather short. Next to one another, they don’t look too different, from a distance. At least, from the waist down.

“I don’t tend to sleep through the night myself,” the prince confides, quietly gazing out to the world beyond them. “I usually awaken and walk near my sister’s statue for a time, and then return to bed. The sight of her calms me.”

Link nods once but only stares downward.

“Tonight, I saw you, and I followed. I hope I am not disturbing you. I can leave, if you wish.”

‘No. It’s fine.’

He can feel his eyes on him. How someone can have eyes so intense and yet so deeply kind makes no sense to him. All the Zora seem very alive, emotional, but with the prince, it is…different. “You seem troubled. Do you want to talk about it?”

‘I don’t know what to say.’ It is both a cheap block but also a deeply honest statement. He doesn’t know. That’s mostly the problem.

“I’m sure the feeling will pass,” Sidon says, one of his large hands touching his shoulder, rubbing at the back of his neck. He would have thought that his skin would be rough, but there is a soft, leathery quality to it. Even in the short time he has been here, Link has become used to how comfortable he is in being physically expressive, although now it brings forth…something he was not expecting.

Guilt.

“Are you worried about the battle tomorrow? I’m sure a hero such as you will have no problem conquering a foe, even one like Vah Ruta. And I’ll be at your side!”

Link leans forward, pressing his forehead so hard against the stone beam in front of him that it hurts. He wants to run. He wants Sidon to move his hand away from him, but he can’t bring himself to rebuff his contact.

“You’ve already done so many fine deeds! This will seem like nothing to someone as fantastic and wonderful a warrior as you! I have nothing but faith in you, Link!”

It’s his sincerity that finally breaks a piece of something loose in Link’s heart. He turns so quickly that Sidon jumps a bit, startled. ‘And what if you’re wrong?’ Link signs with shaking fingers. ‘What if I don’t succeed? What if I die? What if you die? What if I’m not this hero that you think I am?’

“But, you are…” Sidon’s voice is almost sad, and that’s worse, so much worse, and Link slaps the ground between them before continuing.

‘You don’t know me! You only just met me! What if everyone is trusting in me to succeed and I –’

He’s started to cry and didn’t even entirely realize, tears running hot and thick down his face. He only stops his words because Sidon has gently taken his hands and pulled him away from the edge of the platform. He pulls back for a moment, but then it’s as if the strength has seeped out of him, and he lets himself be guided to rest against his smooth white chest, the Zora’s breaths louder in his ears than his own, because the air is moving in and out of the gills at his sides. Sidon’s arms around him are as warm and welcoming as he has always been, and Link feels small enough to hide away from the world, protected in his embrace. The Zora’s fingers trace through his hair, and it’s the most calming sensation, like none of this - any of it - matters, except bringing him some small peace.

“I know that my words may seem empty,” he hears Sidon say as he presses his cheek against Link’s head. “Rays of sunlight on a man who thinks he is dying may not always bring comfort. But we know you, Link. My people, my sister, my father have all known you. I believe in them as much as I believe in you.”

Link sniffs as Sidon takes his hand, and it looks so small against his huge palm, but he raises it to his lips and kisses it softly.

“You may not recall the deeds you have done, but your kind acts are stronger than the memories of them that have failed you. So. Please…”

Even despite his sharp nails, Link doesn’t flinch when Sidon smooths away the tracks of tears on his cheeks with his fingers. Link presses closer, wrapping his arms around him, comfortable. Sated.

“Please, trust me as I trust you.”

Link nods as sleep finally starts to take him once more, and like Sidon, it is eager and good and gentle. He may not feel like a champion, but at least for this night, he is whole.


End file.
